Every Thanksgiving week for the last 8 years, we have hosted a huge potluck dinner at Living Water, serving hundreds of people a traditional Thanksgiving feast in a rare moment of festivity and gratitude in this neighborhood that mostly sees tragedy and hardship. We don’t have a functioning kitchen in our building – all of the food is prepared in homes and brought to share, much of it by generous people from outside of the Living Water community. The event represents the collaborative effort it takes to keep this ministry going downtown.

\We are a small church with limited resources. Most of the regular attendees in our congregation have little to no income. Even so, we have been able to have an oversized impact on the neighborhood because of God’s faithfulness in sending help our way. We want to thank all of the people who have been part of that help over the years. And we would humbly ask that you consider sending some support again today, on “Giving Tuesday.”

As I write, there are volunteers serving coffee and lunch to people who can’t afford it otherwise. We run a large food distribution every Friday. We run a pop up clinic. When the weather gets very cold or rainy, we open the doors as one of two inclement weather shelter programs in the entire county of San Diego. We have developed cutting-edge trauma-responsive groups that help folks heal from trauma so that they can love God and one another more fully. We provide community and love for countless people facing isolation. We host NA meetings, allow homelessness advocates to use our space to plan strategies, and we do our best to show radical hospitality in all of our gatherings for worship and discipleship. We have a discipleship podcast for folks who can’t get here in person for mid-week discipleship. We do all of this with bi-vocational staff and high (and always increasing) rent in the downtown San Diego area and a lot of folks who are volunteering as disciples of Jesus.

Would you pray about making a financial contribution this season? Here’s a link to do so online, or checks can be sent to 1550 Market St, San Diego CA 92101. Thank you for your consideration and support. May God grant you a season of joy, peace, and hope!

Pastor Chris